School board candidate sues district

Sisters resident Mike Morgan filed suit on Monday, April 9, in the Deschutes County Circuit Court against the Sisters School District and the directors of the Sisters School Board. In his action Morgan contends that the school board must keep written minutes and/or a sound or video tape of all its meetings, including executive sessions.

Morgan is currently running for a seat on the school board.

In his complaint Morgan demands that the district and its school board "shall comply with the specific provisions" of the law. He also seeks an injunction that forces compliance with these record keeping provisions. Further, Morgan seeks a judgment that grants him attorneys fees and costs.

Morgan's complaint is directed specifically at the school board's record keeping policies for its executive, non-public sessions. School boards may call executive sessions to discuss a narrow spectrum of issues including personnel matters, labor negotiations, real estate transactions, litigation and student expulsions.

Based on the advice of its attorneys and the Oregon School Boards Association, the Sisters School Board has not kept records of its executive sessions.

Last January 8, Morgan requested copies of records from several executive sessions from Sisters School Board members. When his request was denied by the High Desert Educational Service District (HDESD) attorney John Witty, who is on retainer with the Sisters School District, Morgan took his request to Deschutes County District Attorney Michael Dugan.

Dugan ruled that he had no jurisdiction over Morgan's complaint and directed Morgan to contact the Oregon Government Standards and Practices Commission. (See DA denies records request, The Nugget, February 14, page 29.)

Dugan further found that his office needed to take no further action regarding the status of the records because the school district, through Witty's direction, had determined it would release the records Morgan was requesting.

However, Morgan contends that Witty misled Dugan, as the records Morgan was requesting did not exist.

"He denied my records request for legal reasons on January 24, 2007 without disclosing that the records I sought were not available," Morgan said.

Morgan is also concerned that the district has been advised by Witty not to keep records at its executive sessions because the current superintendent of the HDESD, Dennis Dempsey, was the principal of Sisters High School and served as program coordinator of the problematic home school program at Sonrise Christian School (now Sisters Christian Academy).

Suggesting a conflict of interest Morgan said: "Lawyers reporting to Dempsey have advised the (school) board regarding the audit meetings (executive sessions about the secretary of state's audit) in a way that resulted in no record: i.e., no minutes and no recording."

It is Morgan's opinion that the Sisters School District and its school board are denying the public its legal right to go to a court and have a judge review a record to determine if the record should be released to the public. This right is being denied as such records do not exist.

"They are frustrating public meeting law by doing what they're doing," Morgan said.

Morgan is currently running for Position II on the Sisters School Board against newly appointed member Tom Dumolt for an unexpired two-year term. The election will be held on May 22.

If elected Morgan would be a member of the group he is suing.

"There would be no conflict because I would recuse myself from any discussion with regards to this lawsuit," he said.

According to Morgan, if he was a member of a board that was failing to keep records in keeping with his interpretation of the law, he would have the option of not participating in those meetings.

"Non-participation in an unlawful meeting is certainly an option. It's an option that every director has, and in my opinion they should use that from time to time when it is clear the meeting is in violation of the statute," Morgan said.

Board chair Mike Gould said he could not comment on the pending litigation.